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PFLAG Formally Includes TG Persons

By Loree Cook-Daniels

September 28, 1998

Three years' worth of organizing and advocacy paid off September 12, 1998, when the annual meeting of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) overwhelmingly agreed to amend its mission statement to include transgendered persons.

The new PFLAG mission reads:

To promote the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.

Although the official PFLAG newsletter, PFLAGpole, that came out prior to the vote carefully matched a statement in support of the change with a statement opposing inclusion, not one of the more than a dozen people who spoke on the matter at the annual meeting spoke against the amendment. Several chapters sent letters and even a petition in support of inclusion. Ultimately, the final vote tally showed only one "no" vote.

This overwhelming support can be traced in great measure to the organizing efforts of PFLAG's Transgender Special Outreach Network (also known as T-SON), a group of family members of transgendered persons and transgendered persons. Founded three years ago at a PFLAG conference, T-SON has: sponsored a very successful email support list for family members of transgendered persons and transgendered persons concerned about family issues; initiated a second email support list specifically for parents of minor children who are transgendered; recruited and supported more than 170 PFLAG transgender chapter coordinators; produced and distributed more than 12,000 copies of the brochure "Our Trans Children"; run a national helpline; sponsored many Trans 101 workshops at local, regional, and national PFLAG (and other organizations') meetings and conferences; helped organize and support at least a half-dozen "Trans-Family" support groups throughout the U.S.; sponsored a website; and held a national conference in conjunction with PFLAG's annual meeting September 11-13.

This T-SON conference featured workshops on the "gender spectrum"; gender variant children and Gender Identity Disorder (GID); and providing transgender support in the PFLAG context. It also included: a very productive and upbeat meeting with PFLAG's new Executive Director, Kirsten Kingdon, and PFLAG staff about ways to further implement PFLAG's newly-articulated commitment to transgendered persons and issues; a ground-breaking meeting with intersex advocates to explore ways of providing support to the family members of intersexed persons; and a meeting with Bay Area-based advocates and therapists to articulate and strategize ways to support gender variant children and their parents.

For more information about T-SON's activities, see the website http://www.critpath.org/pflag-talk/ or http://www.youth-guard.org/pflag-t-son. To subscribe to the T-SON email list, send the message "subscribe tgs- pflag youremailaddress" to listproc@youth-guard.org. Copies of "Our Trans Children" are 3 for $2.00 and can be ordered from Mary Boenke, 180 Bailey Blvd., Hardy, VA 24101-3528. Mary can also be reached by email: MaryBoenke@aol.com.

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